Free Republic

As I briefly mentioned in my recent article on the influence of the Linux desktop, with a new major Windows release just around the corner we are being treated to an onslaught of articles proclaiming the failings of Linux on the desktop. You'd think that such articles wouldn't be necessary if the Linux desktop had indeed failed. One recurring theme is the idea that Linux has terrible hardware support. The premise is always that Linux is impossibly difficult to install and that lots of hardware just doesn't work with Linux. The author almost always proclaims his or her love for...

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Hardware store manager Mike Dowling wants to be clear: His shovels might slow an attacking zombie, but you'll to need something else to put the final nail in the creature's coffin. "I wouldn't say it's for killing zombies," the veteran Omaha store manager said. "But it's helpful for cleaning up if you ever have to."

Bill Gates has given Dutch researchers the task of creating a toilet that works without links to water, sewage or power networks. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded Delft University of Technology a grant to develop a way of using microwaves to process human waste and create electricity. The researchers hope the new toilet could be produced at an affordable cost for people in developing countries with limited access to reliable infrastructure. Waste will be dried and then gasified using plasma created by microwaves. The resulting syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, will be fed into...

U.S. plans to sell Saudi Arabia advanced weapons systems worth $60 billion to counter Iran could turn out to be more of a problem than a panacea. The Saudis, unlike the Israelis, have always had problems absorbing high-tech Western systems since they began buying state-of-the-art war machines in the 1970s. Right now, they already have more top-line equipment than they can effectively use, such as an air force with more aircraft than it has front-line pilots or commanders able to deploy them in combat. Saudi Arabia traditionally bankrolls part of Pakistan's military purchases and in return gets experienced Pakistan pilots...

After getting frustrated out of the lemons his problems gave him, David Miller made his own corporate lemonade. Due to the frustration of always having to call technical support to solve his own frequent hardware problems, he started taking the initiative to educate himself.

The U.S. Army is getting very tight with the Apple Corporation, mainly because soldiers have long been enthusiastic users of Apple products (iPod and iPhone, and probably iPad as well). But Apple has tight control over what software can be used on these devices, so the military needs a close relationship with Apple just to get their custom military software on the iPods, iPhones and iPads the troops are so enthusiastic about. This relationship enabled the army to recently run a programming contest for troops and civilian employees. The goal was to create the most effective smart phone software for...

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced a major new initiative to create robotic autonomous manipulators that mimic the human hands, an agency program manager said. For the past several decades, the research agency and the robotics community have concentrated their efforts on programming ground robots to get from point A to point B, said Robert Mandelbaum, a DARPA program manager who focuses on robotics and autonomous systems. That challenge has for the most part been tackled, he said. The autonomous robotics manipulation program will take on a new goal, creating an inexpensive hand-like device that is as adaptable as...

Jedi Mind, Inc. (Pink Sheets: JEDM) (www.jedimindinc.com) is ahead of schedule on the completion of the next thought-controlled applications due out first quarter, 2010. The "Jedi Mouse" allows the user to navigate the computer, open programs and send email with the power of their mind. The application launches a virtual keyboard once an email program is launched and provides the user the ability to compose a written correspondence and press send with the power of their mind. The application can be used by the disabled, as well as normally functioning individuals and is due to be released in March. The...

I have a hardware question. I just now installed a new motherboard. When I powered it up, the fans came on and so did the mouse, but I did not hear beep and my screen was blank. What did I do wrong? this motherboard, it is from intel - a DG43GT iG43 Into this motherboard I put an Intel Pentium D 945 3.4GHz 800MHz 2x2MB CPU. I then added 8 GB (four 2GB sticks) of OCZ brand ram, and put in a OCZ brand silent power supply (500 watt) and a GeForce 9800GT graphics card. All of that stuff was...

Putting new computers together from scratch is relatively easy. A much bigger trick is totally moving an existing software system including the OS and every piece of software on the computer to a totally new hardware base. Symantec offers a commercial product (Ghost) which is supposed to do that but which is problematical for several reasons. The Free Software Foundation offers a stunningly good piece of software along such lines: http://www.clonezilla.org I've used Clonezilla for work projects which have mainly involved cloning linux systems, and last week put it to a kind of an ultimate test which it passed easily....

Las Vegas (CA) – Toshiba said it will showcase a 512 GB solid-state disk (SSD) drive at next month’s Consumer Electronics show (CES). The 2.5” drive is likely to be the highest-capacity SSD when shown at the tradeshow, but the device will not go into production until the second half of next year. Toshiba’s new SSD will continue the race for the highest capacity SSD and given the fact that 2.5” SSDs are now hitting a range that is still considered to be mainstream for traditional 3.5” hard drives and high-end for 2.5” drives is impressive. In terms of performance,...

The VX-5000 features a square shaped camera body on top of a bendable, rubber stand, which makes it easy to position on your laptop, LCD, or desk. Underneath the hood, the VX-5000 received a new image sensor and lens that results in stellar image quality, particularly in low light.>>more...

A Home Depot store in Utah plans to celebrate Gay pride in the Store with decorations of Rainbows and employee Tee shirts announcing gay pride. Inside sources say that this is something that will be devastating to business as most of the customer base tends to be on the Right side of the issue as they are mostly religious people. I am actively involved in this business and i dont want to be a part of it bacuae this is contrary to my belief and would like advice from more experienced FReepers on how best to disrupt these outrageous plans...

Hi All, My step mother is looking at buying a MAC and she (and I) really don't know too much about them... Well, let me put it this way: She knows nothing about computers, while I've never even seen a MAC up close, though I work in IT. We both have a number of questions. My first bit of advice to her was to go to an Apple store, sit down with a sales rep, and see if the computer can do what she wants it to do. She currently has a Windows XP PC, and primarily uses paint programs...

While Hillary Clinton attempts to storm the Oval Office, some of her less renowned sisters are busy liberating one of the few other remaining male strongholds: the hardware store. Strange as it sounds in a country still steeped in Tim Allen reruns, gals are becoming fix-it guys. And at least in some places tools are replacing brass-studded leather totes as the newest female life-style accessory. The home-improvement industry has always been a no-woman's land known for its drab aisles lined with nail bins and mysterious steel objects whose purpose was understood only by grunting guys in flannel shirts. Now it...

Considering the similarities between computers and human beings, both are analogous in that they have hardware and software. The first is made of metal, silicon and code – the second is made of neurons, nerves, and experience. Computer hardware has evolved dramatically since its initial invention. According to Moore’s Law, transistors have consistently shrunk by half - approximately every two years since the 1960s. If we were to compare the size or processing power of a single neuron to a single transistor, we might say our brain “power” would have increased more than 2 million percent since Moore announced...

A new study says that on average, more than half of the ink from inkjet cartridges is wasted when users toss them in the garbage. Why is that interesting? According to the study, users are tossing the cartridges when their printers are telling them they're out of ink, not when they necessarily are out of ink. The study by TÜV Rheinland looked at inkjet efficiency across multiple brands, including Epson (who commissioned the study), Lexmark, Canon, HP, Kodak, and Brother. They studied the efficiency of both single and multi-ink cartridges. Espon's printers were among the highest rated, at more than...

The keyboard on my VAIo lap=top= has gone nuts. When I typ=e a p=, I get the p= p=lus the equal sign , and the cursor jump=s to the first line of typ=e. The direction keys don-' t work, nor does the backsp=ace. The enter key causes the little box with undo to drop= down. I already p=layed around with the numlock key and fixed the worse of it, which was the letter keys tpy=ing numbers. But it is still messed up=. Any suggestions?

Taiwan's Via Technologies on Thursday released details of its upcoming Pico-ITX motherboard, which is roughly the same size as a credit card and opens the door to very small PC designs. Measuring just 10 centimeters (cm) by 7.2 cm, the Pico ITX is designed for Via's C-7 and Eden microprocessor families, and uses chip sets like Via's VX700, which packs the memory controller, integrated graphics, and I/O hub into a single chip instead of two. The motherboard has a single memory slot that can hold up to 1GB of DDR2 (double data rate 2) memory. Via hasn't announced precisely when the...

A chip with 80 processing cores and capable of more than a trillion calculations per second (teraflop) has been unveiled by Intel. The Teraflop chip is not a commercial release but could point the way to more powerful processors, said the firm. The chip achieves performance on a piece of silicon no bigger than a fingernail that 11 years ago required a machine with 10,000 chips inside it. The challenge is to find a way to program the many cores simultaneously. Current desktop machines have up to four separate cores, while the Cell processor inside the PlayStation 3 has eight...

Seeking FReeper opinions on best Computers,and Antivirus software...Please Help!

In an attempt to pre-empt computer hackers, Microsoft is developing "virtual" PCs to scour the web for previously unseen attack code. At the software giant's Cybersecurity and Systems Management lab, based in Washington State, US, researchers are building a squad of the virtual PCs - created in software rather than hardware - to explore the darker corners of the world wide web. To any website they visit, the machines appear to be a normal home computer. But the PCs are seeking out code designed to attack a computer and will sound an alarm if any code is executed in contravention...

Like Mark Twain's death, the demise of the tank has been "greatly exaggerated." A weekend conversation with my World War II and Korea vet father spurs this column. Dad had seen a short video I shot in Iraq that featured my staff section racing down Baghdad's "Route Irish" in an unarmored SUV. Dad asked about the handling characteristics of SUVs and Humvees with "add-on" armor -- light vehicles that weren't designed to carry the extra weight. He then compared what I told him about steel plates and Kevlar panels to a Korean War "armor upgrade" to counter land mines: sandbags...

BANGALORE, India - China and India should work together to dominate the world's tech industry, bringing together Chinese hardware with Indian software, China's prime minister said Sunday. On a visit to India's southern technology hub of Bangalore, Premier Wen Jiabao said the two nations should put aside their historic rivalries for the venture and welcome a new "Asian century." "Cooperation is just like two pagodas (temples), one hardware and one software," Wen said. "Combined, we can take the leadership position in the world," he said. "When the particular day comes, it will signify the coming of the Asian century of...

Tonight on the CBS News evening broadcast, Dan Rather took to the airwaves to present their defense of the now infamous 60 Minutes documents which numerous experts have since proclaimed to be obvious forgeries. This “explanation” did not even begin to address the litany of individual challenges, inconsistencies and volume of other observations which have been forthcoming over the days since the 60 Minutes broadcast. Thus far many of the critiques of 60 Minutes have focused on the general aspects or characteristics of these documents and related technologies, particularly as the easy use of Microsoft Word software to easily generate...

APRIL 29, 2004 Speed Bump While Moore's Law Isn't About to be Repealed Soon, We Might See It Slowing Down a Little By Robert X. Cringely The only certainty in the computer industry for the last 30 years has been Moore's Law, which says that computing power doubles every 18 months. From time to time, it looks like Gordon Moore is going to be repealed by some technical limitation, then clever engineers think of a dodge, and we're safe for a few more years. While Moore's Law probably won't go on forever, we are certainly safe through at least the...

"Quickly Assess the situational area through real-time situational knowledge" The Raytheon Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisiton-Mission Equipment Package (RSTA-MEP) program provides the capability to quickly assess the situational area through real-time situational knowledge provided by long range on-board thermal sensors and off-board sensors. Technological advancements in the sensors and software provide for a wide-area-search (WAS) capability, automatic target detection (ATD), and aided target recognition (AiTR). ATD and AiTR can automatically detect stationary or moving targets beyond the enemy's engagement range and provide a wealth of data to the crew including target bearing, elevation, range, classification, and priority. The RSTA-MEP leverages...

DEAR SIR/MADAM: I AM MR. DARL MCBRIDE CURRENTLY SERVING AS THE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE SCO GROUP, FORMERLY KNOWN AS CALDERA SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL, IN LINDON, UTAH, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. I KNOW THIS LETTER MIGHT SURPRISE YOUR BECAUSE WE HAVE HAD NO PREVIOUS COMMUNICATIONS OR BUSINESS DEALINGS BEFORE NOW. MY ASSOCIATES HAVE RECENTLY MADE CLAIM TO COMPUTER SOFTWARES WORTH AN ESTIMATED $1 BILLION U.S. DOLLARS. I AM WRITING TO YOU IN CONFIDENCE BECAUSE WE URGENTLY REQUIRE YOUR ASSISTANCE TO OBTAIN THESE FUNDS. IN THE EARLY 1970S THE AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH CORPORATION DEVELOPED AT GREAT EXPENSE THE...

Is it cool to just seal this thing off with Duct Tape or would black electrical tape be more hip? How about hitting it with a hammer, just a tap... will that help? The CD/CDR drive is continually opening and closing by itself. I tried running a maintenance program on it but it's freezing up and ridiculously slow. I've checked to see if the manual button for the CD/CDR drive is stuck and it's okay. I also checked the eject button on the keyboard. Any chance that this is a virus? Should I take a photo in hopes that George...

LONDON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy is seeking to charter a large ship to carry military helicopters and ammunition from the United States to two ports in the Red Sea, shipping brokers have said. The request follows a recent order for a vessel to carry military hardware from Europe to the Middle East Gulf, heightening speculation that the United States is pre-positioning equipment for a possible strike on Iraq. In Washington, U.S. Navy spokesman Ensign David Luckett denied the Military Sealift Command had placed a request for a ship to carry helicopters and ammunition to the Red Sea. "The U.S....

Microsoft gets into PC hardware business Launches "Dream Machine" with FIC By Mike Magee: Thursday 04 July 2002, 08:49 INTEL IS NOT GOING TO LIKE this one little bit if it's true. A report in the Economic News claims that Microsoft and FIC will jointly launch a so–called "Dream PC" which doesn't even use an Intel chip, but instead makes use of a Via C3. The report claims that the first jointly developed "Dream PC" will be introduced towards the end of this month and that Microsoft will also show quite a few so called "baseline" or cheap machines which...

Repent, sinners. Your Macintosh is a tool to promote Godless Communism and anti-Creationist "propaganda", according to an article at OBJECTIVE: Christian Ministries. Dr. Richard Paley, apparently "a teacher of Divinity and Theobiology at Fellowship University," starts out with discussions of the PBS series Evolution and Pokemon, and goes on to say: However, these propagandists aren't just targeting the young. Take for example Apple Computers, makers of the popular Macintosh line of computers. The real operating system hiding under the newest version of the Macintosh operating system (MacOS X) is called... Darwin! That's right, new Macs are based on Darwinism! While...

<p>WASHINGTON -- America's programmers, engineers and sundry bit-heads have not yet figured out how much a new copyright bill will affect their livelihood.</p> <p>When they do, watch for an angry Million Geek March to storm Capitol Hill.</p> <p>A bill introduced this week by Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-South Carolina) would roil the electronics industry by forcibly embedding copy protection into all digital devices, from MP3 players to cell phones, fax machines, digital cameras and personal computers.</p>